Apparatus for casting



G. T. FRANCIS ET AL APPARATUS FOR CASTING May 10, 1955 Filed mig. 25, 1952 INVENTORS GERALD T. FRANCIS HN BYl/JO .FRANIs JR.

ATToR FIGS.

United States Patent O APPARATUS FR CASTING Gerald T. Francis and John G. Francis, Jr., Detroit, Mich., assignors to Thomas Steel Forms, Inc., Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application August 25, 1952, Serial No. 306,164

6 Claims. (Cl. 25-130) tween the inner and outer form so as to produce walls of l uniform thickness in the casting.

More specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide in apparatus of the character described an inner collapsible form including side and end Wall structure, each of which comprises a pair of hinged panel parts in conjunction with linkage means for collapsing and expanding said inner form, guide and supporting means adjacent the corners and mid-portions of the wall structure of said inner form, and abutment means limiting outward movement of the panels of said inner form.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide apparatus for casting comprising a rectangular base formed of elongated side and end members havingupwardly facing mold surfaces, means providing inwardly open guide slots below said members, an outer form cornprising side and end walls extending upwardly from the outer edges of said side and end base members, and a collapsible inner form comprising side and end wall structures each wall structure comprising a'pair of panels, hinges connecting said panels along a vertical axis intermediate the ends of said wall structure,'the outer edges of each pair of panels being hinged to the outer edges of the adjacent pair of panels, means for expanding and determined distance apart.

Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds, especially when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a vertical section through casting apparatus substantially on the line 1-1, Figure 2.

Figure 2 is a section on the line 2 2, Figure l, with Y the outer form omitted and with the inner form shown in expanded condition.

Figure 3 is a View similarto Figure 2, showing the inner form in contracted position.

Referring now to the drawings the casting apparatus comprises a stationary rectangular base illustrated as sup- Mice ported on legs 10, the base comprising elongated side assemblies 12 and 14, and relatively shorter end assemblies 16 and 13. The frame is completed by diagonal members 20 and 22, a longitudinally extending member 24, and a transversely extending member 26. The members 20, 22, 24, and 26 are connected to an intermediate square plate 28. The assemblies 12, 14, 16 and 18 are each formed of two angle irons, as best illustrated in the cross-sectional view of Figure 1. These angle irons cornprise an inner angle iron 30 having an upper horizontal ange 32 and an outer angle iron 34 having an inwardly extending upper horizontal ange 36. The vertical flanges of the angle irons 30 and 34 are in contact but the inwardly extending horizontal flanges 32 and 36 thereof are spaced apart to provide inwardly open slots 38.

The casting apparatus comprises an inner collapsible form generally indicated at and an outer collapsible form generally indicated at 42. The outer form comprises end members 44 and 46 and side members, one of which is shown at 48. The side and end members are connected to hinge pins carried by outwardly extending spaced ears 52 to mount the side and end members for outward swinging. The end members 44 and 46 include transversely extending reinforcing bars S4 and the side members include similar reinforcing bars 56. The reinforcing bars 54 and 56 extend beyond the ends of each of the respective members and are provided with apertures designed to register so as to receive connector pins 58y when the side and end members are in the position illustrated in Figure l.

The inner collapsible form is composed of a plurality of side and end panels. The end panels are illustrated at 60 and the side panels are illustrated at 62. A pair of end panels 60 is hinged together as indicated at 64 and the side panels 62 are hinged together as indicated at 66. In addition, the outer edges of the end panels 60 are each hinged to the outer edges of the adjacent side panels 62 as indicated at 68. Secured to the inner surface of one of each pair of side and end panels are plates and 72 respectively. These plates, as best seen in Figure l, are located in pairs, one of each pair being located adjacent the 'bottom of the inner form and the other being located adjacent the top thereof. When the form is in expanded condition, as illustrated in Figure 2, the plates 70 and 72 abut the inner surface of the 'panel adjacent to the panel to which the plates are connected, and thus constitute abutments. Carried by mounting means supported by the base structure is a rotatable plate 74 and the rotatable plate 74 is connected by links 76 and 78 to the plates`70 and 72 respectively. As will be apparent, when the circular plate 74 is rotated to the position shown in Figure 3, the links 76 and 78 serve to draw the hingel connections connecting each adjacent pair of side and end panels inwardly. This will also have the effect ot producing an inward movement of the hinge connections 68 which interconnect outer edges of the side panels to the outer edges of the end panels. Thus, the entire inner form 40 is collapsed inwardly.

Mechanism is provided for effecting expansion and Vcontraction of the form. This mechanism may comprise an operating handle 80, but preferably, comprises power mechanism such as an air or hydraulic cylinder 82 pivotally supported to the base frame as indicated at 84 and including an operating link 86 connected to the rotary plate 74 by an arm 88. In order to guide the operating linkage, a lever 90 is provided pivoted at one end to the link 86 as indicated at 92, and to the diagonal base frame member as indicated at 94.

In order to obtain proper relative positioning between the outer form 44 and the inner form 40 suitable guide means and abutment or stop means are necessary for association with the movable parts of the inner collapsible frame 40. It will be recalled that the base assemblies 12, 14, 16 and 18 were constructed and arranged to present inwardly open slots 38. The panels 60 and 62 which make up the collapsible side and end walls of the inner form carry supporting guide plates 96 at the corners thereof and supporting guide plates 98 intermediate ie corners thereof. The guide plates 96 and 98 extend into the slots 38 and serve to support the inner form and to guide it for horizontal movement as it is expanded and contracted. As is apparent from an inspection of Figure 1, the plates 96 and 98 are located at the bottom edges of the panels 60 or 62 so that as the inner form is expanded, outward movement of the panels 60 and 62 is limited by engagement with the inner edge of the upper lianges 36 of the outer angle iron 34. It will also be observed that the end members 44 and 46 of the outer form abut stop members 100 which are provided on the upper surface of the inwardly extending ange 36 of the outer angle iron 34. The members 100 in addition to serving as stop members for the outer form members, also serve to pro- 1.@

duce a desired modification to the edge of the casting in the tinished product. Inasmuch as the outer walls extend upwardly from the outer edge of the side and end base assemblies and the inner panels 60 and 62 are moved into abutting engagement with the inner edges of the ange members 36, absolutely accurate control of the spacing between the inner and outer walls of the mold is provided. Thus, each of the hinge connections 66 and 63 is supported by guide plates 98 or 96 respectively which guides the articulated panel construction for horizontal sliding movement. Moreover, the arrangement provides abutments adapted to limit outward movement of the side and end panels of the inner form. It will be appreciated that with an articulated construction as illustrated, there is a possibility that not all of the panels will come into engagement with the inner edges of the iianges 36 at the same time. However, by proper adjustment of the articulated linkage such as afforded for example by turnbuckles indicated at 102, the parts may be arranged so that upon the complete stroke of the piston of the cylinder 82, all of the surface members are in firm solid abutment with the inner edges of the flanges 36.

Thus, the mechanism affords means by which the inner form may be collapsed and expanded repeatedly and will in expanded condition always reach the desired definitely controlled position in which its walls are spaced delinitely predetermined distances from the inner walls of the outer form.

The drawings and the foregoing specification constitute a description of the improved apparatus for casting in such full, clear, concise and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, the scope of which is indicated bythe appended claims.

What we claim as our invention is:

l. Apparatus for casting comprising a rectangular base formed of elongated side and end members having upwardly facing mold surfaces, means providing inwardly open guide slots below said members, an outer form comprising side and end walls extending upwardly from the outer edges of said side and end base members, and a collapsible inner form comprising side and end wall structures, each of said wall structures comprising a pair of panels, hinges connecting said panels along a vertical axis intermediate the ends of said wall structure, the outer edges of each pair of panels being hinged to the outer edges of the adjacent pair of panels, means for collapsing and expanding said inner form comprising linkage means connected to each pair of panels adjacent said hinges, and guide means comprising plates extending outwardly from the bottoms of said panels at the corners of said inner form and at the hinges intermediate the ends of said side and end wall structures received within said slots, outward movement of the bottom portions of said panels being limited by abutment between said panels above said slots with the inner edges of said side and end members.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim l in which said plates are dimensioned to remain within said slots when said inner form is fully collapsed.

3. Apparatus as dencd in claim 2 in which said base members and the slot forming means comprise angle irons having vertical webs in contact and inwardly facing horizontal webs spaced apart to form said slots therebetween,

4. in apparatus of thc character described, a rectanguiar base comprising elongated side and. end members, an inner collapsible form comprising side and end wall structures, each of said structures comprising a pair of panels hinged together at a vertical axis intermediate the ends of such structure, the outer edges of each pair of panels being hinged to the outer edges of the adjacent pair of panels, guide means located at the hinged connection between the panels of each wall structure and at the hinged connection between said Wall structures. said guide means comprising horizontal guide plates and vertically spaced members defining slots in which said plates are received, said plates being located beneath said base, links connected to said plates at the hinge connection between the pair of plates constituting each of said wall structures, and a single drive means connected to all of said links for effecting simultaneous inward and outward movement of the said wall structures.

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 4 in which the lower edges of said panels abut directly against the inner edges of said elongated members to limit outward movement thereof.

6. Apparatus as defined in claim 4 in which the connection between each of said links and the associated wall structure comprises an elongated member rigidly connected to the inner surface of one of the plates of the pair, said member extending horizontally beyond the inner vertical edge of said one plate and overlying the other plate of the pair to constitute an abutment therewith preventing outward movement of the plates of the pair beyond a position of alignment.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,013,251 Witthoeftt Jan. 2, 1912 1,458,145 Parsons June 12, 1923 2,001,795 Palmer May 2l, 1935 2,219,106 Kruckenberg Oct. 22, 1940 2,616,146 Haase Nov. 4, 1952 l i i 

